Brace structure



Dec. 31, 1946. J. D. FARRELL 2,413,.302

BRACE STRUCTURE I Filed Feb. 23, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet l 0%", INVENTOR. BYj f @46 AT TV'ORNE'YS' Dec. 31, 1946. J. D. FARRELL 2,413,302

BRACE STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 25, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 wW wai ATTOR EYS 0.31, 1946. FARRELL BRACE STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Shet 3 Filed Feb. 25, 1944 BYM ATTORNEYS Dec. 31, 1946.

J. D. FARRELL BRACE STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 23, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 67pm!W ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 31, 1946 BRACE STRUCTURE John D. Farrell,Nunda, N. Y., assignor to The Foote Company, tion of Delaware Inc.,Nunda, N.v Y., a corpora- Application February 23, 1944, Serial No.523,522

This invention relates to concrete mixing and placing apparatus and moreparticularly to such apparatus which is mobile and which includes anunusually long boom along which the discharging bucket travels indelivering the mixed concrete from the mixing apparatus to the placewhere it is to be deposited.

Such extra long booms are demanded in mobile apparatus of the concretepaver type where it is desired to pour concrete for a building withouterecting the usual scaffolding and concrete conveying apparatus, itbeing merely necessary to bring a concrete paver alongside the build- 1Claim. (01. 212-145) ing and provide it with a sufficiently long boom todeliver its discharge bucket at the elevated central place or placesfrom which the concrete is poured. After the building has been poured,the paver can be moved to the next building unit to provide the concretefor its construction in the same manner. However, with such an extralong boom the weight of the bucket at the outer end of the boom providesan excessive outboard weight which tends to tip the mobile body of thepaver and render its use with such an extra long boom unsafe. While aheavier or counterweighted body for the paver might be provided thiswould be undesirable because it would interfere with the mobility of thepaver and also be disadvantageous when using the paver for otherpurposes and with a shorter boom, as in road paving, and also because itwould require redesigning the paver instead of merely putting a standardpaver to a new use.

Accordingly it is one of the principal objects of this invention toprovide an attachment for a standard mobile concrete mixer of the boomand bucket delivery type which permits of the use of an extra long boomfor conveying the discharge bucket to remote places without danger ofthe weight of the bucket at the end of the extra long boom unbalancingor upsetting the body of the mixer in any way.

Another object is to provide such an attachment which will support theextra long boom against both vertical and lateral forces imposed on themobile body of the paver by the loaded bucket at the outer end of theboom.

Another aim is to provide such an attachment which does not interferewith raising or lowering the boom and also permits the boom to be swunglaterally through a long are therebyyto permit the boom to be readilymaneuvered to suit the requirements of the particular work at hand. H

Another purpose is to provide such an attach 2 ment which can be swunglaterally or otherwise adjusted to permit the boom to be swung stillfurther to one side or the other in meeting unusual placingrequirements.

Another object is to provide such an attachment which can be readilyadjusted to any ground conditions encountered and which avoids the useof guy wires and their necessary anchorages.

Another object is to provide such an attachment which can readily beattached to or removed from the paver and can readily be transportedfrom place to place along with the paver.

Another object is to provide such an attachment which is inexpensive inconstruction and which will stand up under conditions of severe andconstant use without getting out of order or requiring repair.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following descriptionand drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a standard paver having an extralong boomand having an attachment embodying the present invention to compensatefor the weight of the discharge bucket when at the end of the extra longboom.

Fig. 2 Ba top plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, enlarged View similar to Fig. l and showing theattachment embodying the invention in greater detail.

Fig. 4 is a'vertical sectional view taken on line 4-4, Fig. 3.

, Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, enlarged view similar to Fig. 2 and showingthe attachment embodying the invention in greater detail.

The apparatus embodying the invention is shown as comprising aconventional. concrete paver having a frame 9 carried by crawlers l0 andhaving a skip H which can be elevated to discharge the aggregate andPortland cement into a mixing drum, the discharge of which is indicatedat l2. The skip, mixing drum and crawlers are driven by a motor (notshown) which also is employed to raise and lower the boom [4 and to movethe bucket l5 along the boom to and fromits discharging position. Thedetails of the boom elevating mechanism and the drive for the bucket donot form part of the present invention and hence are shownconventionally.

However, it will be noted that the boom' I4 is of exceptional length,the boom shown being 58 feet long, as compared with a standard length of35 feet, :and as attached to a conventional concrete paverasillustrated. The purpose of such an extra long boom is to enable thedelivery .of concrete at greater'heights or at greater distances suchuse it was found, however, that the standard length of boom providedwith a conventional concrete paver was too short to discharge the concrete at the desired elevation and hence the paver had to be providedwith the extra long boom I4 as shown.

As will appear from the drawings, however, the

weight of the filled bucket l5 at the outer end of the extra long booml4 provides a greatly increased leverage tending to tip the entire paveraround the front end of its crawlers ID as an axis and also renderingthe paver unstable laterally in the event the extra long boom is swungto one side of the center line of the paver. Sinc the paver and boom isheavy equipment, this condition is not only impracticable but alsohighly dangerous. I

To compensate for the increased overturning moment caused by the extralong boom I4 andits bucket l5, two pairs of brackets are secured bywelding, or in any other suitable manner to the front end of the frame 9of the paver on opposite sides of the boom and near the top of theframe, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Each pair of these brackets 23provides upper and lower flanges which journal the upper and lowervertical pins 2i of a universal block 22. Each of these universal blocks22 is shown as carrying alining horizontal pins 23 to which arepivotally secured ears 24 provided at the upper end of a tubular bracearm 25. These brace arms 25 normally extend downwardly and laterallyoutward from the opposite sides of the upper front end of the frame ortoe out and it will be seen that the universal connections provided bythe universal blocks 22 permit of adjusting the distance to which thesebrace arms extend from the paver as well as the degree to which eitheror both brace arms extend laterally from the paver.

A knuckle fitting 26, in the form of a casting, is inserted and securedin the lower end of each of the brace arms 25 and is provided witha'horizontal pin 28 which is arranged parallel with the correspondingpins 23. Each knuckle fitting is shown as square sided and as fittedbetween a pair of channel bar 29. These channel bars are disposed in agenerally horizontal plane and extend toward the frame 9 of the paverand are secured thereto by universal joints 30 which are in generalvertical alinement with the universal blocks 22 at the upper ends of thebrace arms 25. As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4 each of the universaljoints 38 is in the form of a blockl interposed between ears 32extending from the channel bars 29 and having horizontal pins 33journaled in these cars. Each universal block 3i also has vertical pinsor pintles 34 each of which is journaled in an L-shapedybracket 35 whichin turn is welded to the lower front end of the frame 9 of the paver asbest shown in Fig. 3.

To prevent lateral movement of each brace arm 25, a pair of ears 38 arewelded to the outer face of the outer channel bar 29 of each pair andcarry a, vertical pin 39 which is removably in .4 sorted in one of aseries of holes 40 provided in the flattened forward end 4| of a tubularbrace rod 42, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 5. The rear end 43 of thistubular brace rod 42 is also fiattened and is pinned, by a vertical pin44, between ears 45 carried by lateral extensions 46 of the main frame 9of the paver. The flattened end 4| of each tubular brace rod 42 is alsoarranged between the ears 38 of the corresponding channel bar 29 and itwill be seen from an inspection of Fig. 5 that by withdrawing the pin 39and selecting one or the other of the holes 40, the corresponding bracearm 25 and its channel bars 29 can be made to toe in more or less asconditions require.

The lower end of each of the brace arms 25 is -provided with anadjustable foot 50 which is adapted to bear against the ground with abroad surface and which is provided with a threaded stem 5| screwed intoa square nut 52 which is in turn welded or otherwise secured between theopposing faces of the outer ends of each pair of channel bars 29. Eachstem 5| can be eitherfast or rotatably secured to the corresponding foot50 and in either event it will be seen that turning the stems 5| willadjust the feet up or down to suit the particular ground conditionsencountered. It will also be seen that by raisin the feet 50, or byremoving them entirely, the paver can readily be self propelled fromlocation to location, this greatly facilitating the use of th paversince it is unnecessary to dismantle the entire brace structure. When sotransporting the paver, the bucket 15 is, of course, withdrawn to itslowermost position illustrated in Figs. 3-5 and where it does notprovide an outboard weight of great leverage as when at the outer end ofthe boom as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

then swung to the necessary angle to meet the lateral swingingrequirements of the boom l4 or to suit its stationary position in theevent that the particular conditions encountered require it to be 'setlaterally at an angle to the longitudinal centerline of the paver, Thescrews 5i of the two feet 50 are then screwed down so that the feet arebrought intofirm engagement with the-ground and. the paver is ready foruse.

As the filled bucket l5 moves to the outer extremity of the boom I4, itsleverage force, which would tend to upset or overturn the frame 9 of thepaver is compensated for by the brace arms 25 which, through thefeet'iifl, provide an outrigger to resist such upsetting or overturningmoments. Therefore the paver can be safely used with the extra long boomM with the advantage that the concrete can be lifted to greaterelevations 0r conveyed greater horizontal distances than is possiblewith a boom of standard length.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention providesan apparatus which adapts a standard concrete paver for use with anextra long boom and compensates for the. upsetting or overturningmomentscaused by the use of such extra long boom. Further the bracing structurewhereby, this compensation is obtained is: readily applied to the paverand removed therefrom and also can be readily adjusted to meet anyparticu: lar conditions encountered. v I 1 I claim as my invention:

.A brace structure for a mobile unit having a frame, comprising atubular brace arm extending downwardly, longitudinally and laterallyfrom one side of said frame and having its upper end flattened andformed to provide a pair of spaced ears; means for pivotally connectingthe upper end of said brace arm to the upper part of said. frame andincluding a block pivotally mounted on said frame so as to be rotatableabout a vertical axis, said ears embracing opposite sides of said blockand a removable pin connecting said ears to said block; an adaptermember partially extending into the lower end of said brace arm andconnected thereto, the lower end of said adapter member having oppositevertical flat faces and being provided with a transverse hole extendingtherethrough; a generally horizontal bar assembly including a pair ofspaced channel members arranged with their fiat sides opposite eachother; means for pivotally connecting the inner end of said pair ofchannel members to the lower part of said frame and including a secondblock pivotally mounted on said frame so as to be rotatable about avertical axis, said fiat sides of said channel members engaging oppositesides of said second block and a removable pin connecting said channelmembers to said second block; said lower end of said adapter memberbeing arranged between said channel members near the outer ends thereofand the said flat faces of said adapter member engaging the flat sidesof said channel members, a removable pin carried by said channel membersand being received by said transverse hole in said adapter member; agenerally horizontal tubular brace rod arranged on one side of andextending along said frame, the opposite end portions of said brace rodbeing flattened; means for connecting one end of said tubular brace rodto the adjacent one of said channel members and including a pair ofspaced ears secured to said adjacent one of said channel members andadapted to receive therebetween said one end of said tubular brace rodand a removable pin connecting said one end of said tubular brace rod tosaid last mentioned ears; means for connecting the opposite end of saidtubular brace rod to said frame and including a third pair of spacedears secured to said frame and adapted to receive therebetween saidopposite end of said tubular brace rod and a removable pin connectinsaid opposite end of said tubular brace rod to said third pair of ears;one flattened end portion of said tubular brace rod being provided witha series of longitudinally spaced holes any one of which is adapted toreceive the correspondingly one of said removable pins thereby to adjustthe effective length of said tubular brace rod; and a foot mounted onthe end of said bar assembly.

JOHN D. FARRELL.

